July 2014 Weather Summary

Date: September 19, 2014
Contact: Deb Kurtz, [phone]

July 2014 proved to be another warmer-than-normal and drier-than-normal-month in the Kenai Fjords area. Daily high temperatures ranged from 60 degrees F to 76 degrees F with a total of five days above 70 degrees F. Measurable precipitation was recorded on 12 days with more than half the total rainfall occurring on one day, July 9^th. Winds were relatively calm with average daily wind speeds remaining below 9 mph every day except July 20^thwhen daily winds averaged 11.4 mph.

As recorded at the Seward airport,the monthly average temperature for July was 57.2 degrees F;1.2 degrees above the 30-year normal. Thetotal precipitation was 1.82 inches (65% of normal), 0.98 inches below the 30-year normal (1981-2010) for the month.

Also of note:                                                             

• The National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center's three month weather outlook (August-September-October) favors above-normal temperatures and normal precipitation for the Kenai Fjords area.
• A new report published in PlosOne explores climate change impacts and rates of environmental change in US national parks.
• The journal Nature Geoscience published a new study that looks at how industrial dust and soil are accelerating glacial melt and contributing to rising sea levels.
• New research published in the journal Polar Biology looks at potential long-term adverse effects on the breeding success of migrant birds in the Arctic as a consequence of earlier spring snow melt resulting from climate change.
• Scientists at the University of Hawaii Honolulu are working to understand how mesoscale eddies (giant whirlpools) in the ocean drive the global climate.
• Researchers at the University of Vermont propose that increased quantities of feces from growing whale populations may be providing a new source for carbon storage.
• Researchers at the University of Montana study how climate change related snow cover and mismatched seasonal camouflage impact snowshoe hares.
• NOAA climate services portal serves as a single point-of-entry for NOAA's extensive climate information, data, products, services, and the climate science magazine ClimateWatch.

Read more to find out about the local climate for July 2014 (PDF)